🇵🇦Nicanor🇺🇲 Garcia

A 19-year-old Venezuelan man with a work permit and pending asylum case was detained by ICE while heading to his job installing windows in St. Johns County, Florida. He spent 45 days at the Baker Correctional Institution in Sanderson, the closed state prison Gov. Ron DeSantis converted into the “Deportation Depot.” According to his account, relayed through advocate Clara Sowers and first reported by Yona Gavino of Action News Jax, one of his friends suffered an epileptic seizure. The man was denied his medication. Guards moved him and shackled him while he was still seizing.⁠Actionnewsjax Michael (a pseudonym he requested because his case remains open) described the facility as “uninhabitable for humans.” Windows in one building had already been smashed out, apparently by detainees seeking air. In another block the windows were reinforced, and two air conditioners failed to cool the space. Guards woke everyone around 2:30 or 3 a.m. for breakfast, then turned on the television so no one could return to sleep. Elderly and disabled detainees were not permitted to sit on benches while waiting. Michael and others were repeatedly pulled out and pressured to sign papers agreeing to self-deport. “They only took us out to tell us to sign, sign, and sign,” he said.⁠Actionnewsjax He had entered the United States through a CBP One appointment after crossing Central America. He held a work permit and an active asylum claim. A federal judge later granted habeas relief and bond. His family paid the amount required. He walked out on September 21, 2026. He continues fighting his asylum case.⁠Actionnewsjax